This is related to commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application entitled xe2x80x9cEnclosure for Removable Electronic Devicesxe2x80x9d by Eugene Yan Ki Hsue, filed on even date herewith, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to enclosures for electronic devices and, more particularly, to a system and apparatus for housing multiple electronic devices in a common enclosure.
2. Related Art
With advancements in data communications and computing technologies, ever-increasing numbers of electronic devices need to be housed. These electronic devices, may include, for example, data storage devices, data processing devices, and the like. CD ROM drives, floppy disk drives, optical disk drives, and high-density disk drives are examples of various data storage devices that are currently available.
Because electronic devices, such as data storage devices, may wear out or malfunction, in certain computing systems, it is desirable to house such devices such that, they are easily removable, replaceable, or both. For example, high-density disk drives are currently utilized to store large quantities of information. Most high-density disk drives, however, are enclosed within systems that do not provide easy access to individual drives. That is, to remove one drive, one or more other drives may need to be removed or disturbed.
In an environment where it is necessary to frequently access the housed electronic devices, such as for repair or replacement, ready access to the electronic devices in an efficient and reliable fashion is desirable. Some electronic devices, such as data storage devices, may frequently need to be replaced or removed from a housing or other enclosure.
Further, where a multiple electronic devices are mounted within a common enclosure, it is desirable to minimize the number of electronic devices that must be physically disturbed when removing or replacing one or more of the electronic devices within the enclosure. To save space, it is also desirable to maximize the number of electronic devices that can be mounted within a common enclosure.
In such environments, to adequately protect the electronic devices from overheating, it is also desirable dissipate heat generated by the electronic devices and other system components within the enclosure.
An enclosure is provided for housing multiple electronic devices. In one embodiment, the enclosure includes a chassis having a floor and opposing sidewalls. Discrete first and second midplanes, each having an opening formed therein, may be disposed in an interior portion of the chassis on opposite sides of a divider wall. The first and second midplanes may be configured to mate to at least one air displacement unit on a back surface of the associated midplane and to mate to at least one device sled on a front surface of the associated midplane. An opening is formed in each midplane adjacent the associated air displacement unit to permit air to pass through the opening.
In one embodiment, the chassis includes a floor and first and second sidewalls adjacent the floor. A divider wall may be positioned on the floor between the first and second sidewalls and may be oriented in parallel relationship with the sidewalls. A set of guides may be disposed on the floor on opposite sides of the divider wall and oriented in parallel relationship with the sidewalls to guide and align device sleds within the enclosure. A shelf may be mounted on the first sidewall for mounting a controller therein to control electronic devices disposed on the device sleds. Slots may be positioned adjacent the first and second walls and on opposing sides of the divider wall for securing midplanes within the chassis.
In another embodiment, a midplane sled includes a floor, opposing sidewalls disposed on the floor, and a front wall, or midplane, adjacent the floor and oriented in orthogonal relationship with the floor. An opening may be formed in the front wall to permit cooling air to pass across the front wall through the opening. Tabs may extend from the front wall for mating with corresponding slots in a chassis. First and second connectors may be attached to first and second sides of the front wall, respectively. The first connector may be used to connect to a drive sled adjacent the first side of the front wall. The second connector may be used to connect to an air displacement unit adjacent the second side of the front wall.
These and other embodiments of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings.